The Alpha's Prey [Alpha-series (I)]

Chapter 33

“What … what is the meaning of this?”, the king stammered.
Ha! Try to get yourself out of that one, you little piece of shit!
I guess we are at a point where you generally use swearwords as a synonym for our king, I noted bemusedly.
And even those are way too nice for that poor excuse of a living being!
“The boy told me he is a former member of your pack, my king – has he spoke the truth?”
When a pup came into this world, the child didn’t only form a bond with his parents, but also with his Alpha. It was a natural process, something neither the newborn nor the Alpha could influence or control. This bond, as faint as it might be at this point, would always connect Yuri to his former pack, even if he was part of another pack now.
“He did”, the king reluctantly admitted, knowing there was no way to hide it. “I can feel the boy is … was … one of mine, although I have never seen him before.”
“You all heard it: the boy was born into the royal pack.”
I let that statement sink for a minute. It was a lot to take in. Even for me, it had been a shock to find out Lucas had left a legacy in form of this peculiar boy. Usually, an Alpha was born. I only knew of two exceptions to that rule. In both cases, the Alpha had been deemed unfit for this position, challenged by his Beta, and eventually lost his life in the fight. The Beta had turned Alpha and one of the warriors had taken up the position of the pack’s Beta. Yuri, however, was far from being born a Beta, and what’s even more remarkable is the fact that neither was he born in Lucas’ pack or is related to him by blood nor did the pack exist before Lucas turned Alpha.
“Yet, we see before us a future Alpha, can feel the power rushing through his veins as it does through our own”, I continued. “I believe it is the will of the goddess that this boy shall be the Alpha of all Rogues strong enough to overcome this horrible disease, a harbinger of hope for all those men we thought irrevocably lost. The child is a living miracle, bestowed upon us by the goddess herself – and I daresay we deserve such a reward, my brothers! Our kind is prospering, and compared to the vampires we managed to live peacefully side by side for centuries. Of course, the devotion and righteousness of our people didn’t go unnoticed by our gracious goddess.”
Shouts of approval filled the hall.
“Yeah, Caleb is right! Unlike those deceitful, greedy bloodsuckers, we have always prioritized a peaceful coexistence of all packs!”
“Yes, ever since the first Alpha-king ascended the throne, we honored our traditions and lived a frugal life devoted to the goddess. If you think about it, it’s rather surprising that such a reward comes only now!”
Gemma, on the other hand, inwardly rolled her eyes at me.
I can’t believe you managed to say all that cringey stuff with a straight face!
I send her the image of me shrugging my shoulders.
It’s working, isn’t it?
Do you … do you truly believe what you said? That whole “the goddess is proud of us”-thing?
Gemma hadn’t been raised in a religious household, had learned that the only being she could safely put her faith into was herself. To us wolves though, the moon goddess was an integral part of our culture, deeply embedded into our traditions and our thinking. I might have had my moments of doubt, but never to the point where I would have denied the very existence of such a deity.
What if I did?, I asked, curious how my mate would respond.
If your faith makes you happy and doesn’t harm anyone – you do you!, she casually replied. As long as you don’t try to convert me, you can believe in Santa Clause for all I care.
To get back to your original question: I do believe the goddess had a hand in turning Yuri into an Alpha. As for her reasoning, your guess is as good as mine. I just put out there what I thought would evoke the most favorable reaction for our cause, I admitted.
Mission complete, I would say.
We’ll see …
“I also believe it is no coincidence the goddess chose a boy from the royal pack.” I braced myself for what I was about to say next. I had to sound like I believed it, couldn’t allow my true feelings to show. “That she bestowed this special honor to the king and his wolves is a sign of her approval, a show of praise.”
I swallowed my pride, went down on one knee, and bend my head.
“Long live the Alpha-king.”
“Long live the Alpha-king!”, the others repeated and went on their knees as well.
When I rose, I shot Yuri a worried glance and was relieved to see he, too, had followed my example. I hated that I had to force this unto him, but it also cleared up any doubt still lingering in me that the boy had what it took to be a true Alpha. More than anything else, being a leader meant to make sacrifices, to put the wellbeing of your people before your own. To save his pack, Yuri bowed to the very man that had ordered his adoptive parents to be me murdered in cold blood – that took a strength not many possessed.
Please tell me I hallucinated! Gemma could barely contain her anger. Please tell me I did not just witness every freaking Alpha paying their respect to the biggest asshole on the planet because you kick-started it! How could you do that? How could Yuri do that when both of you know what this devil did to Lucas and Laura?
We came here to save the lost wolves, not to bring down our king. It would do us more harm than good to destabilize the political order. Getting the king on our side is our best shot at a peaceful outcome of this trial.
Pragmatic words of an Alpha, spoken without emotion.
Damn it!, Gemma cursed, knowing I was right.
The cheers trailed off. Naked fear crawled down my spine when the king suddenly left his seat and approached Yuri. When he stood before the boy, he put a hand on his cheeks, putting on a show of fatherly affection. Yuri clenched his hands into fists but didn’t budge.
“My dear, precious boy, you have no idea how happy you made me today!”, the king reverently declared. “Your ascension to Alpha will go down in history, will serve all our men as a reminder that even in the darkest of times there is still hope to be found in the mercy of our beloved goddess."
He turned towards the gathered Alphas. The wide smile on his face was as dazzling as it was fake. The king knew what game I was playing, of that, I had no doubt. But since he came out a winner as well, he would be a fool not to play along. His gaze found mine and the smile vanished.
"I wronged you, Caleb", he confessed. "Of course, all charges against you are dropped as of now. Blinded by confusion and anger, I acted on instinct when I should have listened to my heart instead. You are a man of honor, always have been. I hope you find it in you to forgive me one day."
"There is nothing to forgive, my king", I forced myself to reply, silently apologizing to Lucas, Laura, and all the other innocent souls that had given their lives to satisfy this tyrant’s thirst for power. "I understand the evidence pointed against me. You only did what you had to do."
The king nodded.
"It was an eventful day and I am sure we all have plenty of food for our thoughts after all Caleb revealed to us. We will gather again tomorrow to discuss how we should deal with the Rogue pack and any future Rogue cases. You are dismissed."